AutoZone, Southern Africa’s largest privately owned automotive parts retailer and wholesaler, has launched a range of customer support channels to receive support 7-days a week.

AutoZone’s Pit Crew support line (0800 11 22 111) provides technical support for customers who have purchased products from AutoZone or alternatively there is email support at cic@autozone.co.za.

This is complemented by AutoZone’s mobi SMS service (41746) where customers can SMS queries and sign up to the mobi site. Alternately, customers can access AutoZone’s new website which provides vehicle servicing and installation tips at www.autozone.co.za .

AutoZone has a footprint of 101 branches, made up of 10 wholesale branches, 91 retail branches and 46 member-owned stores.

It provides major brands such as Castrol, Shell, GUD filters, NGK Spark Plugs, LUK products and Safeline brakes, as well as AutoZone’s offering of own-brands such as Ampro tools, Eco-Tech electronic accessories, Auto Kraft tools and accessories, AutoZone chemicals and oils, Eddies Spares for taxis, Elpar electronic components and FEMO hard parts.

Also view:

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair

Vehicle maintenance and safety guide to roadworthiness of vehicles

A partnership between pay-how-you-drive insurer Coverbox and vehicle tracking & movement monitoring technology market leader Ctrack looks set to drive vehicle insurance telematics forward two generations.

A clear demonstration that Ctrack is able to comply with Coverbox’s 18-point device strategy means that Ctrack’s massively-advanced interactive devices will soon be establishing new levels of data provision from vehicles to which they are fitted as part of pay-how-you-drive insurance products.

“We’re developing and progressing our soon-to-be-launched behavioural insurance product at an exciting rate, and it’s all hot in the wheeltracks of a resounding report which looks set to change the way car insurance premiums are set. This moves vehicle insurance telematics two or three generations beyond current equipment capabilities,” said Johan van der Merwe, deputy chairman of Coverbox following Insurance Telematics 2012 in London.

“We have a clearly-defined device strategy – built around financial and supply security of the device company, as well as installation standards and control of tamper and removal security – and Ctrack meets and even exceeds our requirements.

“We know we shook a lot of people in the insurance industry by commissioning a report which reveals that there’s an overwhelming case for changing the way the insurance industry sets premiums – but the re-insurance industry simply cannot ignore the level of information and quantities of data the Coverbox-Ctrack combination will make available through a highly advanced interactive device and supporting monitoring and analytics.

“The Holy Grail of the vehicle insurance industry is analysing and concluding the cause, process and effect of a vehicle accident or event – without giving the game away, we’re currently piloting absolutely tamper-proof interactive devices which provide previously unheard-of levels of data, but which also monitor and record driving behaviour and vehicle movement for a significant period before any sort of harsh or severe event.

“There is also the potential – even now – of incorporating overt or covert video recording into the system.

“We have also carried out tests to assess various on-board telematics devices’ response to being swapped in and out of vehicles, and we’re actually quite surprised at some of the results and responses.”

Saleem Miyan, managing director of CtrackEurope Holdings Limited, said: “Pardon the pun, but we’ve been looking for a vehicle for our two-generations-on insurance telematics technology, and it is pretty clear that Johan van der Merwe and his Coverbox team have a vision and understanding which provides that vehicle.

“Coverbox’s team are not ‘make-do’ guys – we’ve walked into an environment in which not only do they recognise Ctrack’s potential impact, they’ve embraced it and catapulted it forward even further.”

Coverbox’s report into the vehicle insurance sector will be presented to a select panel of leading insurance companies in due course.

“What it reveals is that there’s an overwhelming case for changing the way the insurance industry sets premiums: we can record, analyse and compare driving behaviour as against applying insurance ‘proxy ratings’ – we get factual driving information, and base rates on driving style and location rather than lifestyle and home address,” said Johan van der Merwe.

“Ctrack’s technology is simply jaw-dropping in the context of pay-how-you-drive as Coverbox sees it.

“The report illustrates that both insurers and drivers will be better off if insurance is rated on driving style rather than lifestyle, and that gooddrivers don’t suffer from the behaviour of bad drivers – and Ctrack’s product and technology takes monitoring and recording to an utterly higher plane.”

Coverbox pay-how-you-drive insurance allows drivers to take out comprehensive cover paid for by the mile, with the price per mile varying according to the time of the day or night: off-peak, peak or “super-peak” times, and how the driver drives.

All Coverbox policyholders have a personal website enabling them to see precisely how many miles they are driving, and what the cost is. The technology behind Coverbox is based on proven equipment and technology.

Ctrack in the UK and Ireland are divisions of DigiCore Holdings, a global company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Founded in the 1990s, DigiCore specialises in the research,development, manufacturing, sales and support of technologically advanced tracking and resource management solutions.

Under the Ctrack brand, DigiCore offers a wide range of vehicle location, personal and lone worker tracking,fleet and work flow management, satellite navigation and security tools – with cost effective and scalable solutions that offer a unique combination of flexibility, reliability and functionality. As a result, more than 600,000 systems have been fitted in 50 countries across five continents, making DigiCore the most comprehensive industry service provider worldwide.

For more on vehicle and insurance telematics also view:

What is Insurance Telematics and how will it impact on car insurance?

Vehicle Insurance Telematics

Driver Intelligence to be measured by Discovery with Discovery Insure

Outsurance activates technology to reward safe driving behaviour

Pay As You Drive and Car Insurance

Vehicle Telematics, Accident Investigation and Fleet Management

[Western Cape 14 May 2012 09:00]

A truck and a Nissan sedan have collided with each other at the top of Sir Lowry’s Pass this morning. The small truck caused such extensive damage to the sedan that the driver and only occupant of the vehicle sustained such severe injuries that he died at the scene.

The nature in which the accident took place is not yet known, but paramedics and rescuers arrived at the scene to find the two vehicles almost side by side in the middle of the road, with the middle of the sedan still crushed into the front of the truck. There was nothing further that could be done for the driver of the Nissan, and the 33 year old man was declared deceased.

There had been four men travelling in the truck at the time, and they had suffered minor to moderate injuries. They were taken through to Mediclinic Vergelegen by ER24 and Department of Health: Western Cape Emergency Medical Services ambulances for further assessment and care.

Traffic was severely affected traveling up the Pass while rescuers, paramedics and officials continued at the scene.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

084 222 1078

[BRENTWOOD PARK, JHB 13 May 2012, 01:00]

Three people have died and and three others sustained serious injuries following a collision on Great North road in Brentwood Park early this morning.

The cause of the collision is unclear at this stage, but a Volkswagen Golf and a Renault had collided on the road. When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene they found the Renault passenger vehicle on fire. One of the female occupants was found next to the vehicle.

The lady, believed to be aged in her 30′s, had sustained suspected head, chest, back, neck and abdominal injuries as well as a broken right leg. Paramedics promptly dispatched a medical helicopter to the scene and the female was later airlifted to a medical facility for further care.

The driver of the Golf was entrapped in the vehicle. Once extricated from the vehicle paramedics treated the man, believed to be aged in his 30′s, at the scene for a head and chest injury as well as a broken right leg. The passenger also received treatment at the scene for suspected back and neck injuries. Both patients were later transported to the Thambo Memorial Hospital for further treatment.

Local fire and rescue services extinguished the Renault passenger vehicle and found that the driver and two other passengers were entrapped in the vehicle. All three the occupants were later declared dead at the scene.

Local law enforcement officials attended the scene and will be investigating the incident further.

Andre Visser, ER24

[KZN 11 May 2012 16:45]

Two accidents on the major KZN highways has left 19 people injured and a man deceased.

The first accident involved a taxi that had rolled on the N3 in Pietermaritzburg, between the Hilton and Cedara road off ramps. According to paramedics on the scene it appears that the taxi rolled approximately 50 meters, up an embankment and then rolling back down onto the road again, landing on its wheels.

Despite the damage to the vehicle, and the suspicion that most of the patients actually were ejected from the vehicle as it rolled, there were six patients that sustained moderate injuries and nine patients that sustained minor injuries only. Paramedics arrived on the scene to find most of the vehicles occupants walking around the scene. The highway was almost completely blocked to traffic with only one lane open. Later, traffic was only allowed to pass through the emergency lane as emergency and rescue vehicles stopped at the scene to assist the injured.

Shortly thereafter, another serious accident was reported. This time on the N2 at the Clare Road Bridge in the direction of Umgeni.

The details regarding how this accident occurred are not clear, but a bakkie rolled on the highway, crashing into the roadside barriers. A truck and a light motor vehicle were also involved in the accident and these two vehicles crashed down the roadside embankment, landing almost 50 meters down.

Paramedics who arrived first on scene found that the driver of the bakkie that had stayed on the road was sadly already deceased. He had suffered extensive injuries and there was nothing further that could be done for him.

There had been another four patients that had suffered moderate injuries who had been occupants of the second bakkie and the truck. Despite the damage to these two vehicle having crashed down the embankment, paramedics were grateful that they were in a stable condition having suffered only moderate injuries.

The four patients were treated according to their injuries on scene before being brought up to where the ambulances were on the road and were then taken to appropriate hospitals in the surrounding area for further assessment and care.

Both accidents will be investigated by the respective authorities that attended the scenes.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

[Ventersdorp, NW 11 May 2012 09:00]

Potchefstroom paramedics were called to assist with critically injured patients on the R30, Derby Road, approximately 10 kilometers outside of Ventersdorp towards Derby after a bakkie rolled off the road.

The Advanced Life Support paramedic was immediately shown to where a man lay with critical injuries after he was allegedly ejected from the double cab bakkie as it rolled. The man was semi conscious and in need of life saving treatment. He was placed on external breathing equipment and the ER24 Discovery Medicopter was called to the scene. The man was stabilised as best as possible on scene before being airlifted to the Milpark hospital in Johannesburg.

The remaining four occupants of the vehicle had sustained moderate to serious injuries. One of the men was taken to Mediclinic Potchefstroom while the other three were taken to Ventersdorp Hospital.

The bakkie had been extensively damaged and had come to rest of the roadside on its roof. It is not clear what caused the driver to lose control, and the bakkie was the only vehicle involved in the accident.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

[VANDERBIJLPARK, GP 09 May 2012, 20:00]

Two people sustained various injuries yesterday evening following a collision between a car and a truck on Delfos Boulevard in Vanderbijlpark.

The cause of the collisions is unclear at this stage, but the truck had allegedly collided into the side of a Volkswagen Golf. When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene they could see that the collision was severe as the Golf had sustained serious damage.

Paramedics found the two occupants in the Golf entrapped in the vehicle as bent steel and rubber was pinning them in the wrecked vehicle. Local fire and rescue personnel used hydraulic rescue equipment to cut the vehicle in order to free the occupants.

One of the occupants, a female aged 24, received treatment at the scene for a broken left arm as well as suspected hip, back and neck injuries before being transported to a nearby medical facility for further care. The other occupant received treatment and transportation from the scene by another ambulance service.

Local law enforcement officials attended the scene and will be investigating the incident further.

Andre Visser, ER24

084 211 2277

[Rivonia, GP 09 May 2012 16:30]

Miraculously only two people have sustained moderate injuries after a truck overturned and crashed into approximately 15 cars on the busy N1 highway. The truck was heading in a southerly direction from the Buccleuch Interchange when the driver allegedly suddenly lost control of the large truck. The truck crashed into the vehicles and left in its wake an approximate 300 meter long accident scene with pieces of wrecked vehicles strewn across the highway between Rivonia and William Nicol.

The cars were extensively damaged, but despite this, fortunately only two people appeared to have sustained moderate injuries. Paramedics from the entire area rushed to the scene and each occupant of every car was assessed to determine whether they had been injured.

The two people who had been injured were treated accordingly and taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance.

The already strained afternoon traffic was brought to an almost complete standstill with only a partial lane of the five lane highway open to traffic.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

[PINETOWN, KZN – 09 MAY 2012 AT 12H45]

A motorcyclist believed to be in his early thirties is in a serious condition after colliding with a motor vehicle at the intersection of Stapleton and East Street in Pinetown this afternoon.

ER24 arrived on the scene and found the motorcyclist in the road near to his bike and in a lot of pain. The motor vehicle was found just a few meters away from the scene. The paramedics accessed the patient and found that he had sustained a broken leg and broken arm. They also suspected neck and back injuries. Advanced life Support intervention was performed on the patient before he was transported to a nearby hospital for further medical intervention. The driver of the motor vehicle was unharmed in the accident.

Traffic was severely affected in the area due to the collision as East Street had to be closed while paramedics stabilised the motorcyclist. The necessary authorities were on the scene and would investigate the accident further.

Derrick Banks, ER24

View also: Motorcyclists must respect traffic lanes

Also visit the following sections:

• Think Bike
• Motorcycle Safety and ATGATT

For Motorbike Safety, we would like to urge all our bikers to view the following sections:

• Motorcycle Safety 101
• Road Safety & Training Motorcyclists
• Think Bike Presentation
• Motorcycle Safety
• Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors
• Training OTRE

[DURBAN, KZN, 08 MAY 2012 AT 12H30]

A motorcyclist who is believed to be in his late thirties is in a serious condition after collided in to the back of a bakkie on the M4 southern freeway in the direction of Durban just after the Edwin Swales off ramp this afternoon.

ER24 paramedics found the motorcyclist lying in the road and in a serious condition. The motor bike was a few meters away with extensive damage to the front of it. The bakkie was parked in the left hand lane with damage to the back tail gate. The patient was treated for suspected neck and back injuries and possible internal injuries due to the impact. Advanced Life Support intervention was performed on the patient before he was rushed to a nearby hospital for further medical care.

Metro Police were on the scene and would investigate the accident further. Traffic was affected as two lanes had to be closed while paramedics were busy on the scene.

Derrick Banks, ER24